The Accessible Saskatchewan Act - Summary
The Accessible Saskatchewan Act came into force on December 3, 2023.
This legislation will help make Saskatchewan a more accessible province for persons with disabilities.
This summary provides an overview of what the Act says and why decisions were made. The official version of the Act is available here.
Accessibility Features
This report includes:
- Large font (Arial 18 pt) and the option to enlarge the screen (Hold the CTRL button and press the + button until the font size is right for you. Use CTRL and - to reduce the size)
- American Sign Language (ASL) translations. Look for this symbol:
If you require this report in an alternative format, please email accessiblesk@gov.sk.ca or phone toll-free 1-877-915-7468.
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Table of Contents
Definitions 
What is accessibility?
What is the definition of disability in the Act?
Why isn’t my disability listed in the definition?
Process
How does a bill become law?
Activities
What will the Act do?
How does the Act promote accessibility?
What types of barriers does the Act address?
Does the Act recognize sign languages?
How will accessibility legislation relate to laws and programs that already exist?
How will this legislation be different than the Accessible Canada Act?
What are accessibility standards?
Involvement of persons with disabilities
How does the Act involve persons with disabilities?
Why does the Act only apply to government at first?
What happens if the law is not followed?
Will the fines be used to increase accessibility?
Does the Act allow for complaints?
Why doesn’t the Act include deadlines?
How long will it take to create legislation?
How is the Saskatchewan government accountable for progress?
What is a regulation and how is it different than the Act?
Why doesn’t the Act mention The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code?
Does the Act create new organizations or positions?
Definitions
What is accessibility?
Accessibility means that all people can take part in their communities through work, play and other daily activities.
Accessibility is about removing barriers so people can feel included and have independence.
Accessibility is important for everyone, especially people with disabilities.
What is the definition of disability in the Act?
The definition of “disability” used in the Act is:
Any impairment that, in interaction with a barrier, hinders an individual’s full and equal participation in society, and includes:
(a) a physical, mental, intellectual, cognitive, learning, communication or sensory impairment; and
(b) a functional limitation;
whether permanent, temporary or episodic in nature, or evident or not.
Why isn’t my disability listed in the definition?
We know that the disability community is diverse, and that people experience barriers differently. This Act is aimed at removing barriers for everyone in Saskatchewan.
The suggested definition of disability is broad to try to be inclusive.
Process
How does a bill become law?
A bill is introduced at the First Reading. This is the first chance for the Legislature and the public to see the bill.
The Second Reading includes a debate where members of the Legislature can comment on what the bill says.
The bill then goes to the Committee Stage, where a committee reviews the bill and may propose changes before it goes to the Third Reading.
At the Third Reading, the bill may include any changes from the Committee Stage.
After a report from the Committee, members of Legislature will normally vote on the Third Reading of the bill and if it passes the vote the bill proceeds to Royal Assent. Once the bill receives Royal Assent it becomes an Act. Once a bill has become an Act it can be brought into force immediately or on a future date decided by government.
Activities
What will the Act do?
The Act will create new rules to make government and organizations more accessible by removing barriers persons with disabilities face.
How does the Act promote accessibility?
The Act says that:
- The minister must promote accessibility by raising awareness of how barriers keep people with disabilities from participating in their communities.
- Accessibility plans must be prepared for how barriers will be eliminated.
- An annual progress report must be made public.
- The Saskatchewan Accessibility Office will be created and will be responsible for providing education on accessibility, increasing public awareness, and monitoring compliance and enforcement.
What types of barriers does the Act address?
The Act aims to remove all types of accessibility barriers.
A barrier can be anything that stops or makes it harder for persons with disabilities to fully participate in their communities.
For example, some barriers can stop people from independently accessing buildings or using computer programs.
Sometimes people’s attitudes towards disability can be a barrier and education might be needed.
Does the Act recognize sign languages?
Yes, the Act recognizes that deaf people use sign languages, including American Sign Language and Indigenous sign languages, as their main way to communicate.
How will accessibility legislation relate to laws and programs that already exist?
Accessibility legislation will be separate from existing laws and programs that support persons with disabilities. The legislation will add to and support existing laws.
Accessibility legislation will support the principles of The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, United Nation’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.
How will this legislation be different than the Accessible Canada Act?
The Accessible Canada Act covers areas that the federal government is responsible for, such as television and radio, telecommunications, air travel, and banking. Saskatchewan’s accessibility legislation applies to areas that the provincial government is responsible for, such as provincially‑owned properties, cities and towns, parks, health care and schools.
What are accessibility standards?
Accessibility standards will outline the rules government and organizations must follow to remove barriers in different areas. Areas included in the Act are:
- Built Environment (buildings, places, and spaces)
- Information and Communications (standards that make giving and receiving information accessible for persons with disabilities).
- Employment (hiring and workplace standards)
- Transportation (buses and taxis)
- Service Animals (public education and public access)
- Procurement (buying goods and services)
- Service Delivery (getting goods, services, or programs)
The Accessibility Advisory Committee will provide advice on the development of standards in each of these areas.
The Act also says that standards can be made for any other areas identified later.
Involvement of persons with disabilities
How does the Act involve persons with disabilities?
The Government of Saskatchewan supports the principle of “Nothing about us without us.” The Act involves people with disabilities in the following ways:
- Persons with disabilities (or organizations representing persons with disabilities) must make up at least half of the new Accessibility Advisory Committee).
- Persons with disabilities will be involved in recommending standards.
Who will develop standards?
The Minister of Social Services will appoint an Accessibility Advisory Committee. Part of the committee’s role is to make recommendations for accessibility standards.
At least half of the members of the proposed Accessibility Advisory Committee will be persons with disabilities or members of organizations that support persons with disabilities.
The Act says that the Accessibility Advisory Committee, in making recommendations, must:
- talk to persons with disabilities;
- talk to people and organizations that support persons with disabilities;
- talk to people and organizations that may be impacted by the standards; and
- post their ideas for standards for the public to comment on.
Impact
Who is impacted?
The Act aims to improve accessibility for all Saskatchewan citizens, especially persons with disabilities.
The Act will impact the Saskatchewan government first. Government will lead the way in becoming more accessible.
Regulations will also be made to identify organizations that will need to follow the law.
Why does the Act only apply to government at first?
We learned through public engagement that people wanted government to lead the way.
This will allow us to:
- build momentum;
- share lessons learned; and
- ensure organizations are supported to follow the law.
Compliance and enforcement
Who enforces the law?
The Act requires the director and inspectors to ensure organizations follow the law.
What happens if the law is not followed?
Government will take the lead on this new legislation and build an understanding by providing education and sharing resources. Where these measures are not effective, penalties and fines may be used as a last resort.
Organizations that do not follow the law can receive penalties and fines.
Will the fines be used to increase accessibility?
Other provinces with accessibility laws do not give out many fines, so they do not bring in a lot of money.
In Saskatchewan, any fines collected will go into government’s General Revenue Fund.
Government spends money on many different programs and services to improve accessibility. We will continue to look at new areas where money needs to be spent.
Does the Act allow for complaints?
Government will set up a process for people to provide feedback on barriers they are experiencing. This information will help government improve accessibility. This feedback process will not be used to address individual complaints.
Depending on the type of complaint a person has, there are other places where they can file their complaint.
These include:
- Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission
- Saskatchewan Ombudsman
- Office of Residential Tenancies
- Employment Standards
Timelines
Why doesn’t the Act include deadlines?
We’ve learned from other provinces that deadlines did not speed up the removal of barriers.
The Act ensures accessibility will be an ongoing government priority.
The first steps government will take include:
- making an accessibility plan;
- establishing the Accessibility Advisory Committee;
- creating the Saskatchewan Accessibility Office;
- identifying organizations required to follow the law; and
- making a process to provide feedback to government.
As new barriers are identified, we will take action to remove them.
How long will it take to create the legislation?
The bill went through three readings in the Legislature and received Royal Assent and became a law.
This Act will not come into force until a future date, so that government can make regulations that are needed for the Act and prepare businesses and organizations for the rules that they will need to follow. Accessibility standards will take time because we need to engage the public and people who will be affected by the legislation. This process helps make sure laws meet the needs of all Saskatchewan people.
Accountability
How is the Saskatchewan government accountable for progress?
The Act requires government to issue a public report each year on progress and successes in making Saskatchewan more accessible.
There will be a review seven years after the Act comes into force, then at least every 10 years after that.
The timing of reviews in the federal legislation and other provinces’ legislation ranges from every three years to 10 years.
We want to make sure there is enough time between reviews to implement recommendations.
Other
What is a regulation and how is it different than the Act?
An Act is one piece of legislation. It sets the rules for all the laws about a specific topic, in this case accessibility. Saskatchewan’s elected leaders must vote and agree on an Act for it to become law.
Regulations and standards are rules that go along with an Act. For accessibility legislation, these rules say what people have to do or change to make it easier for people with disabilities to go places and understand information.
The Act needs to be in place first, then regulations can be made to provide more details on how certain things are done.
Different regulations will happen at different times.
Why doesn’t the Act mention The Saskatchewan Human Rights Code?
In Saskatchewan, the Human Rights Code prevails over all other laws. This is written in the Human Rights Code.
Repeating this in the Act would not change anything and may cause confusion.
Does the Act create new organizations or positions?
The Act creates the Saskatchewan Accessibility Office and establishes the Accessibility Advisory Committee.
